The "World Cup Player Showcase" at the 2026 World Cup fuels a scorching summer transfer window

By Han Bing The climax of the 2026 World Cup is over, but the transfer surge for World Cup players is only starting. Usually, during the World Cup, the summer transfer window is almost idle because players are concentrating on the games. But this year is an exception: major transfers continued throughout the World Cup, and as the tournament deepened, more World Cup players became sought-after by elite clubs.

No summer market for "World Cup players" has ever been as crazy as this one. Not only have two "€100 million men" emerged—Anderson and Rogers—but others like Olise and Alvarez may also join the "€100 million World Cup international" club. Meanwhile, World Cup standouts Manzambi, Tielemans, Gast, Summerville, and Sebari have all completed moves, while Bouadi, Barcola, and the biggest "grassroots" star Vozinha are also hot commodities. The 2026 World Cup summer is hot enough, and the World Cup player transfer market is unprecedentedly scorching.

The reason this summer's World Cup player transfer window is so crazy is mainly due to the high-premium buying spree that started in the Premier League before the World Cup. Before the World Cup, Gordon joined Barcelona for €70 million, and Tottenham paid €60 million for Dutch international Van Hecke. These two high-premium deals kicked off the World Cup player transfer wave. As of July 25, among the top 12 transfer fees this summer, only Portuguese World Cup international Gonçalo Ramos moved to AC Milan, unrelated to the Premier League.

Manchester City and Chelsea have each invested heavily, signing two English World Cup midfielders: Anderson (€135 million) and Rogers (€138 million), consecutively breaking the English player transfer record. At the same time, this is the first summer window to produce two "€100 million World Cup internationals."

The rising tide in the Premier League has also raised the bar for transfer fees of World Cup players in the four major European leagues. The World Cup's assist king (7 assists), Olise, has decided to join Real Madrid, but Bayern Munich's offer is between €220–250 million, while Real Madrid's bottom line is only €150 million. Bayern has lined up Paris Saint-Germain's French international Barcola as a replacement for Olise's possible departure, with PSG's asking price at €150 million. Real Madrid also has a backup candidate, Diomande, in case Olise doesn't join, but RB Leipzig has quoted €120 million for the Ivorian winger. Moreover, he has already reached a personal agreement with PSG, but the clubs have yet to finalize the transfer fee.

Atletico Madrid's striker Alvarez, who had been pushing for a transfer before the World Cup, the Rojiblancos believe his price tag has risen to €120 million after the World Cup, and Atletico's repeated insistence that he is not for sale is clearly a bid for a higher return. Alvarez's Argentine teammate Enzo is also a focus of the transfer market, with Chelsea demanding up to €140 million. If these World Cup internationals' transfers go through, this summer could see five "€100 million World Cup internationals" emerge.

Besides the "€100 million men" standard for top stars, the Premier League also has the equally overpriced "second tier" of World Cup internationals. Croatian center-back Vuskovic (€54 million) joined Brighton to fill the gap left by Van Hecke. Chelsea is about to sign French World Cup international defender Lacroix for a transfer fee as high as €61 million.

The new stars who shone brightly at the World Cup are also hot targets in the summer market. The first to benefit was Bayern Munich, who had agreed on a deal for Moroccan striker Sebari before the World Cup for €50 million. Just after the official announcement, Sebari scored in consecutive matches, becoming a key player in Morocco's run to the quarterfinals. Aston Villa sold Belgian captain Tielemans to Manchester United for €41 million, then spent €60 million to sign Swiss star Manzambi, who scored three goals at the World Cup. Similarly, New Zealand striker Gast, who also scored three goals at the World Cup, joined Championship side Swansea for £6 million (€7 million).

On the day of Spain's World Cup debut (June 15), Real Madrid officially announced the signing of Spanish left-back Cucurella for €55 million, and his performances in this World Cup were phenomenal. Meanwhile, Real Madrid also signed Portuguese midfielder B. Silva and French center-back Konaté on free transfers. In addition to Olise, Real Madrid also wants to sign Cucurella's World Cup-winning teammate Rodri. The World Cup Ballon d'Or winner, whose contract expires next year, has even convinced Manchester City to set a price of €45 million plus €5 million in add-ons to push the transfer. Real Madrid also hopes to sign Moroccan World Cup midfield star Bouadi, but there are too many suitors, and his parent club Lille has set a price of €100 million, which could even be raised.

The last England defender to secure a World Cup spot, Chalobah, is expected to join Italian new rich Como for €40 million. Inter Milan is also negotiating to sign Tottenham's Argentine center-back Romero. Barcelona is also pursuing Spanish defender Laporte; although his release clause is only €15 million, Athletic Bilbao is demanding double that price due to the World Cup champion premium. Ferran Torres, who scored the winning goal in the World Cup final, has also received generous invitations from PSG and Atletico Madrid.

Unlike other World Cup internationals, Summerville, who scored two goals for the Netherlands at the World Cup, rejected offers from top five league giants and joined Saudi giants Al Hilal for a staggering €64.3 million + €11.7 million (total €76 million). At Al Hilal, he will earn a net salary of €17 million per year, ten times his salary at West Ham! Brazilian defensive midfielder Casemiro also left Europe to join Inter Miami, becoming teammates with his former El Clásico rivals Messi and Suarez.

As for the biggest dark horse of the World Cup, Cape Verde's "40-year-old rookie" Vozinha, he has received too many offers and has not yet made a decision. The Cape Verdean goalkeeper, who has been a free agent since July 1, has seen his social media followers skyrocket from 50,000 before the tournament to 29.5 million now, an increase of nearly 600 times. Inter Miami, Brazilian second-division clubs Avaí and Atlético Goianiense, and Chilean giants Colo-Colo are all interested, with Colo-Colo currently leading the race.